1 2 ECSRA Empowering Civil Society in Rural Areas Book of achievements 3 4 Table of contents I. About the ECSRA project ........................................................................ 7 1.1 Project background and objectives ..................................................... 7 1.2 Project Activities ............................................................................. 8 1.3 Process .......................................................................................... 9 1.4 Actors and Supporters of the Initiative (at the local/county level) ........... 10 II. The context of areas targeted by the project ........................................... 11 2.1 Socio-economic context in the targeted areas ................................. 11 Berat ................................................................................................ 11 Elbasan ............................................................................................ 12 Gjirokastra ....................................................................................... 13 Lezha ............................................................................................... 14 2.2 Target groups and beneficiaries .....................................................16 2.2.a Focus on rural and peripheral areas ........................................... 16 2.2.b Challenges in empowering citizens & encouraging good governance ....................................................................................... 17 2.3 Intervention strategy and ECSRA methodological approach ................ 18 2.3.a Assessment and working strategy design component: ................. 18 2.3.b Building capacities component: ................................................. 20 2.3.c Information and awareness component: ..................................... 22 2.3.d Experience sharing and advocacy component: ............................ 22 III. ECSRA: Implementation and impact .................................................... 25 3.1 Component: Assessment and strategy building .................................. 25 5 3.2 Capacity building component ..................................................... 27 3.3 Information and awareness component ......................................... 29 3.4 Experience sharing and advocacy ................................................... 32 3.5 Testimonies ................................................................................... 33 IV. Partners for change: joint initiatives ECSRA and CSOs .......................... 37 4.1 Joint initiatives framework .............................................................. 37 4.2 Implemented activities and expected results: .................................... 39 4.3 Results ......................................................................................... 48 V. ECSRA: Best practices ...................................................................... 50 5.1 Communty Magazine ................................................................... 50 5.2 Fair of Ideas ............................................................................... 51 5.3 Grant Support of civil society in rural and remote areas .................. 53 6 ABOUT THE ECSRA PROJECT 1.1 Project background and objectives Independent of the progress of the last two decades, Albanian civil society (CS) continues to face challenges in terms of influencing governance, reaching out to citizens and ensuring sustainable results. The 2010 Civil Society Index as well as other reports evaluating the 3rd sector enables empirical evidence related to inconsistencies in the level of development and civil society role in urban areas versus rural and remote areas. The lack of active CS actors in rural and remote areas deprives the communities of these areas of the benefits of participatory governance oriented towards citizens. It also deprives them of the advantages of the integration process. Specifically, civ- il society is one of the actors that are key to the future of the Local Action Groups for Rural Development (LAGs – a three-party partnership between civil society, local government and the private sector) as fundamental structures to be used to channel the EU’s assistance for Albania’s rural development (a PARD component). 7 This was the context for the planning and implementation of the project “Empow- ering Civil Society in Rural and Remote Areas with the Aim of Promoting Good Governance and Development” -- ECSRA. This project was aimed at revitalizing civil society in rural and remote areas, as well as contributing to good governance through capacity building and empowerment of civil society in these areas. The initiative was an effort to encourage civil society actions in rural and remote areas, as well as to promote good governance and citizen participation in the disadvantaged and remote areas of Albania, thus facilitating and encuraging cooperation and a closer partnership between the civil sector, local and regional authorities and other local partners. The initiative was implemented in four counties – Berat, Elbasan, Lezhë and Gji- rokastër over a period of 18 months (July 2011 – December 2012), addressing the key concerns by meeting these two specific objectives: 1. Building sustainable capacities of Civil Society in Rural and remote areas (CSRA) as a key and irreplaceable actor for the advancement of rural commu- nities’ priorities through concrete actions that were founded on and promoted achievement of fundamental democratic principles that are at the basis of inclu- sive, accountable and citizen-oriented governance. 2. Increasing awareness and advocating with key national and local actors for the strengthening of the CSRA, the development of alternatives for the growth of the third sector in rural and remote areas, and the strengthening of CSRA and local actors in order to include them in networks and trilateral partnerships as an efficient instrument in addressing development inequalities in general and rural development in particular. 1.2 Project Activities The Project was implemented through several stages, but because of their nature, they can be categorized in four main components, as follows: 1. 2.1 Assessment and working strategy design component: This component was met through objectives undertaken and carried out in the framework of: a. Carrying out ground work necessary for project initiation and implementation; b. Conducting an assessment study on CS in rural and remote areas of Albania; c. Disseminating newsletters and making preparations for the awareness rais- ing campaign. 1.2.2 Capacity building component: Under the second framework, activities that resulted in the increase of capacities of civil society actors in rural and remote areas of targeted districts, as well as 8 the building of capacities of their partners in the public as well as private sectors at the local level. Primary activities focused on: a. Sharing findings of assessment report and increasing awareness of identi- fies issues; b. Drafting manuals on Civil Society Organizations’ Management as well as on CS-Government-Business Partnerships; c. Conducting trainings on capacity strengthening for CSOs in rural and re- mote areas, with a focus on project cycles and CSO management; d. Conducting trainings on trilateral cooperation with participants from all three sectors – civil society, local government and private sector. 1.2.3 Awareness Raising and Knowledge Strengthening This component was characterized by informational and awareness raising ac- tivities that included the following: a. Awareness raising campaigns through electronic media; b. Dissemination of publications, including informative brochures, a series of newsletters, manuals and an evaluation report on CS in the rural areas. 1.2.4 Experience sharing and advocacy component Experience sharing and advocacy was achieved through the following: a. Workshops b. Fair of Ideas c. Conferences All these activities included participants from all three potential parties: civil society, local government and private sector. 1.3 Process In conclusion of the ECRSA project, reflections on its progress and the followed pro- cess are positive. The project implementation process carefully followed the stages and components planned to achieve its aims and objectives. On the other hand, it displayed the flexibility necessary to facilitate and enable as wide an access as possible to its beneficiaries, considering the nature of the intervention and its target. The Initiative’s implementation project was designed based on stages that integral- ly respected components described in the previous section. Although a few ele- ments, such as informational and awareness, were spread throughout the process in its entirety, its key stages were dominated by specific activities and approaches for the achievements of the initiative’s key components: needs’ assessment – build- ing capacities –information and awareness – experience sharing and advocacy. 9 1.4 Actors and Supporters of the Initiative (at the local/county level) Project implementation within the set deadline and in compliance with projected results was made possible thanks to the involvement, contribution and support of various actors at the local level. The initiative’s support was trilateral – from the civil society, local government and business. The project encountered the enthusiasm and support of civil society organizations that operated in the rural and remote areas in the counties of Berat, Lezhë, El- basan and